LIVE NEWS and UPDATES

See you at the next big launch scheduled by ISRO in April – of India's Chandrayaan-2 mission to the Moon!

11:45 (IST)

That's all, folks!

ISRO will continue to update us with milestones from EMISAT and the PS-4 orbital experiments on their website & Twitter page. For now, that's all from us at Tech2 :)

11:40 (IST)

Exceed Space makes history with today's launch

Indian space startup Exceed Space made history by becoming both, the first and the second private company to go to space! The satellite will test the feasibility of a new way to clean up space debris, which is a growing nuisance with every successive launch.

India's 1st private company to go to space is also the 2nd to go to space! This time we're flying on @isro#PSLVC45 on April 1. With a very special payload - await details :-)

ISRO's Chairman has announced that a viewer's gallery for future launches from Sriharikota has been built & inaugurated with today's mission. K Sivan welcomes anyone who wishes to watch it live and "feel the vibrations" as the rocket lifts off!

An Advanced Retarding Potential Analyzer for Ionospheric Studies (ARIS) from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in Kerala

11:30 (IST)

There's still the last leg of the mission

The mission is a success! But that isn't it. There's still a way to go before the PS-4 adjusts itself into its track for the next few months at 500km altitude. It'll stay "alive" for the next few months and house three experiments inside it for 5-6 months in microgravity.

11:20 (IST)

There go the little ones!

Thirteen of the 28 satellites are now in orbit.

11:18 (IST)

The fourth stage has been fired up one more time

After ten seconds of thrust with the fourth stage engines, engineers have now begun releasing the tiny paying guests on today's mission.

11:16 (IST)

Livestream for the second half of today's mission

11:02 (IST)

We're back with more from the ISRO launch today!

The PSLV is a few minutes from its last engine restart. A few minutes after that, the 28 small satellites in the mission will be sent out one after another from the fourth stage.

10:12 (IST)

What's happening in the meanwhile?

In another ~20 minutes, the fourth stage will be ignited again for 10 short seconds in an orbital maneuver. It will then be switched off for another 50 minutes till around 11.10 am. No satellites will leave the rocket during this time. It's only so the rocket can return from an altitude of ~750km to ~500km. While 750km works for EMISAT, the smaller satellites are all going to be released one after another at the lower altitude of 500km.

Won't that be a sight?

10:02 (IST)

More satellite releases & Chairman's address at 11.10 am!

The live telecast & more updates from the mission will resume at 11.10 am, with the ISRO Chairman K Sivan's address.

09:51 (IST)

40 minutes before the 4th stage is fired up again

The PSLV's fourth stage & the 28 commercial satellites onbard are cruising with minimal intervention from mission engineers down to an altitude of ~500km for the next set of satellites to be released.

09:49 (IST)

Look at her go...

Stay swell, EMISAT!

09:48 (IST)

Fourth stage shut-off and EMISAT separation

750 km up in the air, the PSLV PS-4 has been switched off. 45 seconds after this, the EMISAT has separated from the fourth stage.

09:40 (IST)

Fourth stage comes alive!

It's been 2 minutes now since the specially-modified PS4 mission today has roared to life. It won't be long before engineers release the first satellite from the PSLV, India's EMISAT.

09:36 (IST)

First & second stage have separated!

The PSLV is now running on its third stage, and cruising for a good minute and a half to conserve fuel and maintain its speed at a relatively steady altitude. It will not coast at ~500km above the surface till its time to release drop the third stage.

09:32 (IST)

PS-1, heat shield and payload fairing separated

The PSLV has shed its first stage, the heat shield & its payload fairing, which now leaves the satellites inside open to zero-G.... their first taste of space!

09:30 (IST)

Straps-on boosters switch off, separate!

The PSLV has shed its strap-on booster engines! The PSLV-Core Alone will now go further and drop its first stage in a few seconds.

09:28 (IST)

We've got a perfect, normal liftoff!

09:27 (IST)

NanoAvionics is pretty excited to have its nanosats flying to space today, too!

Our first launch of 2019 is nearly here! 20 next generation Dove satellites are set to launch on @isro's PSLV rocket on April 1, 2019 IST (March 31 Pacific). We’ll be sharing more updates as the launch window nears, but for now, find out more in our blog: https://t.co/77NjzPNyChpic.twitter.com/H0GhaLO4yT

The PSLV-C45's Mission Director and Vehicle Director has given the launch a green light. We're not less than 15 minutes to the launch, which is not out of ISRO's hands. The automatic launch sequence has now taken over.

ISRO's Chairman has announced that a viewer's gallery for future launches from Sriharikota has been built & inaugurated with today's mission. K Sivan welcomes anyone who wishes to watch it live and "feel the vibrations" as the rocket lifts off!

All 28 satellites from the mission were successfully injected into orbit! But that isn't it. There's still a way to go before the mission ends. The PS-4 will adjust itself into its track for the next few months at a little under 500km altitude. It'll stay "alive" for the next few months and house three experiments from Indian students and startups for 6 months in microgravity.

After ten seconds of thrust with the fourth stage engines, engineers have now begun releasing the tiny paying guests on today's mission.

The PSLV is a few minutes from its last engine restart. A few minutes after that, the 28 small satellites in the mission will be sent out one after another from the fourth stage.

The live telecast & more updates from the mission will resume at 11.10 am, with the ISRO Chairman K Sivan's address.

The PSLV's fourth stage & the 28 commercial satellites onbard are cruising with minimal intervention from mission engineers down to an altitude of ~500km for the next set of satellites to be released.

750 km up in the air, the PSLV PS-4 has been switched off. 45 seconds after this, the EMISAT has separated from the fourth stage.

It's been 2 minutes now since the specially-modified PS4 mission today has roared to life. It won't be long before engineers release the first satellite from the PSLV, India's EMISAT.

The PSLV is now running on its third stage, and cruising for a good minute and a half to conserve fuel and maintain its speed at a relatively steady altitude. It will not coast at ~500km above the surface till its time to release drop the third stage.

The PSLV has shed its first stage, the heat shield & its payload fairing, which now leaves the satellites inside open to zero-G.... their first taste of space!

The PSLV has shed its strap-on booster engines! The PSLV-Core Alone will now go further and drop its first stage in a few seconds.

We've got a perfect, normal liftoff!

The PSLV-C45's Mission Director and Vehicle Director has given the launch a green light. We're not less than 15 minutes to the launch, which is not out of ISRO's hands. The automatic launch sequence has now taken over.

Last we heard, engineers had finished filling up the boosters and the fourth stage of the PSLV with propellant about 20 hours ago.

Representational image. Image courtesy: ISRO

After a 28-hour countdown early on Sunday morning, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the PSLV-C45/EMISAT mission today at 9.27 am. The mission includes an Indian electronic spy satellite developed jointly by ISRO and the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and 28 other satellites from many different countries via its commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited.

A new variant of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the PSLV-QL lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota with the 29 payloads, placing them in 3 different orbits over 3 hours – a milestone that ISRO is attempting for the first time.

The PSLV-C45/EMISAT mission is a special one. It will be ISRO's first attempt to place satellites in three different orbits in a single satellite launch mission. It will also test a new variant of the PSLV rocket – the PSLV-QL, which has 4 additional strap-on boosters to give it a huge additional thrust.

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